


A Whole New World (Quite Literally)

by WhatTheWentz



Series: Steelatom Week 2017 [2]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, Earth-4, How Do I Tag, M/M, Multiverse, Steelatom Week Day 2: Multiverse, SteelatomWeek2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 12:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11185431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatTheWentz/pseuds/WhatTheWentz
Summary: When Ray and Nate are sent out to meet their Earth-4 doppelgangers, they learn that they are a couple.





	A Whole New World (Quite Literally)

_ “What in the name of sanity is Earth Four?” _

 

Being a time traveller, you were bound to learn a lot of new things, face a lot of strange things, whether that’d be challenges or challengers, but even Nate Heywood, as charming and imaginative as he was, had his limits.

  
And yet here he was, standing with the rest of his team as Barry Allen, also known as the Flash, explained their new mission to them.

 

The speedster anxiously paced around, “It’s sort of complicated.”

 

“Try us.” Ray, Nate’s best friend and a renowned scientist, crossed his arms, seemingly able to believe anything at face value.

 

Barry struggled to explain, “It’s just that-- Well…” there was a flare of red and yellow lightning and a whoosh of air, sending papers flying all over the floor of the ship as Barry grabbed a whiteboard and a pen, returning with a stressed look upon his face as he frantically began drawing circles onto the board, “Okay, so imagine that there are infinite worlds, all sitting there in the same area of space, each earth extremely similar but incredibly different.”

 

“That’s impossible.” Ray said, “It’d cause chaos.”   
  


Barry pointed at Ray, “You’re right!  But, if all these earths were vibrating at a different frequency to ours…”

 

“Then, I guess it’d be possible.” Ray finished Barry’s sentence, “So what are you saying, Bar?  That there’s alternate realities?  Like, there could be ones where I’m evil, or Mick’s good, or we’re all dead?”

 

Barry nodded, then added, “Supergirl’s from a different earth, one a lot like ours, but very different, remember?”

 

“To be honest, I tried to completely block out the theory of the multiverse.” the scientist sighed, “So what’re you saying?  We need to go to one of these earths?”

 

Barry shuffled, linking his fingers, “We’re calling it Earth Four, to be specific.”

 

“Why?  What’s happening on Earth Four?” Nate asked.

 

Barry shrugged, “I’m not exactly sure.”   
  


Rip piped up, “So, Mr. Allen… You’re sending us on some kind of suicide mission to another Earth?  Why exactly can’t you go?”

 

“Because it involves two of your team’s doppelgangers.” Barry explained, “Cisco, he got a vibe when you guys came around to dinner last week.”

 

Mick grumbled, “Your girlfriend makes one hell of a souffle, by the way!  If she ever decides Red’s not her colour--”   
  


_ “Do not  _ even go there.” Barry warned, “Anyway, Ray, Nate… Cisco saw you two…  You were watching as the world fell apart.  And the feelings he got… something bad’s going to happen.”

 

Ray and Nate exchanged a look, before the historian asked,  _ “Us  _ two?”

 

“Yeah.” Barry nodded, “You guys.”   
  


Ray asked, “So how do we even get to this place?  Neither one of us do dimension hopping.”

 

“Cisco, he’s giving The Waverider a little upgrade.” Barry explained, “He’s making it so you can hop earths.”

 

Jax looked upset at that, “He’s messing with my ship?”

 

_ “My  _ ship, Mr. Jackson.” Rip reminded, “Say we  _ do  _ go on this mission, what then?”

 

Barry instructed, “Ray and Nate need to make contact with their other selves, figure out what’s going on.”

 

“Cool.  Never met  _ myself  _ before.” Ray smiled, and Nate couldn’t help but laugh at his optimism, “Mission accepted.”

 

“Let's get this show on the road.” Barry said.

 

***

 

Taking his first step onto the ground of a new world was a huge journey for Ray, who exaggerated every movement as if he wanted to make this moment last forever.

 

“What the hell are you doing, you nerd?” Nate’s voice brought him out of his childish wonder and he frowned.

 

Ray replied, “Reliving my childhood dreams.  Have you any idea how amazing it is to be standing in another reality?”

 

“We were in Doomworld, at least, versions of us were.” Nate grumbled, “In fact, the amount of times we change history, we practically invent alternate realities.  Also we were a heart surgeon and a yoga instructor once.  So yeah.”

 

Ray looked downtrodden at that, “What’s wrong with you?  You’re just as nerdy as I am, why aren’t you loving this?”

 

“Because, Ray, this isn’t history, which I’m used to.” Nate explained, “This place, it feels wrong.  It  _ is  _ wrong.”

 

Ray then attempted to brighten the mood, “Not completely.  We’re still buddies in this world.  I guess there’s something right.”

 

Nate couldn’t help but laugh at that, a genuine laugh instead of something stubbornly cynical, and he gazed over at his friend, “That’s sweet, Ray.  But I don’t think we’re quite each other’s type.”   
  


“Take the compliment, you masochist!” Ray nudged his friend.

 

Nate snickered, then sobered after a couple of seconds, “That’s not all that’s wrong.” he confessed, “In this world, we don’t know what’s different, do we?”

 

“What are you getting at?”  Ray asked, slowing to a stop, “Nate, tell me.”   
  


Nate shut off the comms, then signalled for Ray to do the same, and when he did, he explained, “In this world… what if my life’s different?  What if I’m still a hemophiliac, and if Grandpa Heywood is still alive an-and if my dad still loves me?  How do I live with that?”   
  


“This isn’t your world.” Ray sighed, “And believe me, I know pain, I know loss, but I’ve learned that that shapes you.  Whoever those people are, whoever this Nate is… he’s not you.  So, what I’m saying is…”

 

Nate completed his sentence half heartedly, “Suck it up?  I’ll try.” he turned his comms back on.

 

“What the hell guys?  Were you making out or somethin’?  Why did you turn off the comms?” Sara’s angry voice spoke in their ears.

 

Nate scoffed, “Come on, Sara.  You know I don’t swing that way.”

 

“Yeah, that’s why you and Ray spend most of your time  _ gazing _ into each other’s eyes.” she snarked, “Are you almost at the place?”

 

Ray replied, “Yep.  Although, it is cool we share an apartment.  I’ve always wanted to share an apartment with a friend.”

 

“Cool.” Nate replied, “I’ve done the whole sharing thing in college.  Wasn’t a fan.  The dude didn’t even call the hospital when I accidentally cut myself shaving and was nearly bleeding to death.  Just went out drinking.”   
  


Ray’s expression changed to both horrified and concerned, “Oh my God, that’s  _ awful.” _

 

“Yeah, but luckily, I managed to call and get to the hospital in time.  Obviously, since I’m alive.” Nate explained, “So, how are we doing this?  Just knocking, saying ‘hey, we’re your doppelgangers, please let us in?’”

 

Ray asked, “You got another plan?”

 

The other shrugged, “Not really.”

 

They headed up the stairs to their shared apartment, ensuring none of the neighbours saw them before knocking at the door.

 

Approximately a minute later, the door opened to reveal a dishevelled Nate, Earth Four edition.  As soon as he saw his own face looking back at him, he shrieked in an embarrassingly high pitched fashion before backing into a wall, whining in pain before sinking to the ground.

 

“Wha-- Who the hell?” Nate4 looked between the two men in front of him, “H-How is this possible?”   
  


A voice called through from the living room, “Baby?  Are you okay, I heard a crash?”

 

Ray recognised his own voice and looked at his Earth’s Nate before repeating,  _ “‘Baby’?” _

 

“Please don’t hurt me.” Nate4 whimpered, looking like he was about to cry, “I’m too young to die.  I haven’t even seen the new Star Wars yet!”

 

Earth One Nate rolled his eyes, “Are you ser-- I’m not going to kill you, you idiot!”

 

“Wh-What do you want with me?” Nate4 asked.

 

All of a sudden, Ray4 walked through, not even noticing the other two as he asked, “Oh, honey… did you fall and hurt yourself again?  Do we need to go to hospital?”

 

“You two… are a couple?” Ray1 asked, capturing his alternate self’s attention.

 

Ray4 sank to the ground next to Nate, “Y-You’re… me?  Am I tripping?  Oh, God, I’m tripping, aren’t I?”

 

“You’re not tripping.” Nate1 began, “Although, we might be.  A couple, seriously?”

 

Nate4 confirmed, “W-We’re married.”

 

Ray and Nate of Earth One exchanged a confused look, one that Nate slightly lingered upon.  He had never thought of Ray like that, at least, he thought he hadn’t.  It was confusing, weird, and yet, sort of made sense.

 

“We’re your doppelgangers from an alternate universe.” Ray1 blurted out.

 

Ray4 looked confused, then gasped, “S-So that means my theory of the multiverse is true?  I’ve gotta write this down.”

 

“Glad to see some things haven’t changed.” Nate1 snarked, “You’re still a nerd.  I guess some things are multiversal.” he looked at the alternate versions, “Could you let us in?  We’ll explain everything, I promise.”

 

Nate4 groaned, “Fine.  Help me up, Ray?”

 

Ray4 got to his feet, pulling up his husband by the hand before wrapping an arm around his shoulder.   The Earth One iterations of the two exchanged a brief look before both looking at the ground, drawn into thought.

 

When they went into the living room, Nate1 couldn’t help but look around, his eyes scanning over photos and his heart sinking as he noticed a photograph of his fully grown father and his grandfather, confirming that the latter had survived.

 

Ray1 noticed this and rested a hand on his shoulder, “You okay?”   
  


“My dad’s good here.” Nate stated, “He’s happy.  Happier in this singular photo than he ever was around me.”   
  


Ray reminded him, “He’s  _ not  _ your father.”

 

Nate was about to reply, but his doppleganger managed to do so instead, “Actually, that’s a pretty old photo.  Dad, he’s not been like that for years.”   
  


“What happened?” Nate1 asked.

 

Nate4 replied with a disheartened sigh, “My mom died.  Cardiac arrest.  And now Grandpa Heywood’s in a home.  Dad’s not been happy in ages.”

 

Ray4 sat down beside his husband, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze before asking, “What about you?  What made you so miserable?”

 

“Hank-- sorry,  _ dad _ grew up without a father.  Grandpa Heywood… he died.” Nate1 explained, sitting on one of the chair arms, across from the other two, “And that, along with my hemophilia, caused him to treat me as more of a broken thing than a son.”   
  


Nate4 nodded, “Hemophilia.  Sucks, doesn’t it?”

 

“Well, I kinda don’t have it anymore.” Nate1 explained, then promptly steeled up, hearing his doppelganger curse in shock.

 

Nate4’s voice trembled, “What the hell are you?”

 

“It’s… complicated.” Nate1 said before he reverted back, “Anyway, as nice as this little conversation is,  you guys are in danger.”

 

Ray4 asked, “What kind of danger?”

 

“We don’t know.” Ray1 replied.

 

The other Ray snarked, “Well,  _ that’s  _ helpful!”

 

“There’s no need to be snappy, Raymond.” Nate4 chastised.

 

Ray4 looked sad for a quick second, then rolled his eyes, “Okay.  I’m sorry.  It’s just… stressing me out.”

 

Nate4 rested his hand on his husband’s outer thigh, lightly tracing circles there with his thumb as he softly chided, “It’s okay, baby.  If there’s anything I understand about this, it’s how stressful it is.”   
  


Ray4 leaned forward and pecked his lips, which made the Earth One iterations of themselves feeling slightly awkward, exchanging a brief look before looking back down.

 

“Sorry…” Nate4 pulled away, noticing his doppelganger’s expression, “Is this awkward?”

 

Nate1 shook his head, “Why would it be?  Asides from the PDA, we’re fine.  We’re friends.”   
  


“Yeah.” Ray4 smirked, unconvinced, “‘Friends’.  Sure.”

 

***

 

After a couple of hours, the Earth One versions of the two opted to return to the ship, determining that there was no danger as of then.

 

“Back already?” Sara asked.

 

Nate crossed his arms, “They’re a couple.”   
  


“What?” Sara arched an eyebrow before bursting out laughing, “Oh my God.  I  _ knew  _ it.”

 

Ray huffed, “It’s not like that.   _ We’re  _ not like that.   We’re friends.”   
  


The words seemed to cause Nate’s heart to sink for some unknown reason, but he nodded and agreed despite himself, “Best friends.”   
  


“Yeah, whatever.” she looked unconvinced, “You two can deny your slow burn, eyes lingering romance, but this girl,” she pointed to herself, “has a very functioning gaydar.   So, we’ll send you lovebirds back out tomorrow to see yourselves, okay?”   
  


Nate nodded, sighing.

**Author's Note:**

> [follow my tumblr and scream about steelatom with me](http://legendsofgaymorrow.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> kudos/reviews are always loved!!


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